Dumb Question: Water Heater Operation

[FEZ]

Okay, here goes my second post -- How does the water heater work in Freelander? I opened the bypass valve, the tank filled, I turned on the water heater, waited 10-15 minutes, turned on a hot water facet, hot water for about 3-5 seconds, then cold again. What am I doing wrong? Thanks.

[sherdep]

no question is a dumb question -

were you on a generator , shore power or was the hot water heater on gas or none of the above?

[FEZ]

It is a gas heater and it was fired up. I could hear it heating up and felt the heat exhaust outside the cover. Any ideas?

[sherdep]

maybe there is a bypass hose or a hose diverting the hot water - thats what comes to mind
I would think 10 to 15 minutes would have been plenty of timeto get hot water

[rick_h]

Bypass should be closed - valve in and out of the tank open - but not sure how your valve layout is - that type of scenario I had with my first TT and had the same symptom as you

[sherdep]

I am unsure of his layout either - only reason why a bypass came to mind is my father's motor home had the same issue as well and the by pass was near the main water connections - his had a red hose instead of the blue with the valve turned

[FEZ]

Never mind guys, I figured it out. You guys were mention the bypass valve then it dawned on me that I only opened two valves and thought maybe I missed one. Just ran out to the RV and guess what? In a new Freelander there are three valves going to the water heater and third one you can barely see. Thanks again for everything!

[sherdep]

cool and glad you got it figured out - told ya it wasnt a dumb question

[LCDR Johnson]

Hello out there,
I've just registered with forestriver forums and am in dire straights.... my brother is using my RV and asked me how to "get hot water." I've had my Forest River RV since 2005, used the hot water heater for about three months, but now I'm totally lost as to what to tell him to get it started. ANy help out there would be greatly appreciated. GJohnson

[jimh]

make sure the tank is full, the bypass on the water around the heater is closed and the supply open (check some of the post on how to winterize and reverse).
check for a full tank at the tank relief. pull the lever a little and see if u have air or water (have water pressure on it when u do this). don't depend on water at the faucet to tell if the tank is full; if the tank is bypassed as in winterizing, the you could have water at the faucet and still have a dry tank.
flip the switch on the hot water heater to run it on electric; also make sure the breaker is on.
if u don't have electric, there should be a switch mounted in the trailer (mine is on the end of a lower cabinet) then go outside and watch it light (in case u have an obstructed burner that u didn't see).
after the initial set up all should work automatically after that.
if it sparks and fails to light, light one of the burners on the stove to make sure u have gas. it may take several tries before the air is out of the line to the water heater.
i believe one of the earlier post in this thread has a picture.

[dlhoppe]

Don't turn the electric heat element on unless you're absolutely sure it has water in it. The bypass valves are easy to figure out if you just study them a little. When the handle is inline with the pipe, it's open. Make sure the valves are set so water flows into and out of the tank.

[dlhoppe]

As Jimh pointed out, the relief valve is a good way to check for water.